Faunts Feel.Love.Thinking.Of.

Alberta, Canada is hardly known for its indie rock, but that’s changing with the emergence of bands like Women, Azeda Booth, and Faunts. The latter five-piece, based in Edmonton, has been crafting spacious, airy soundscapes since 2000. Feel.Love.Thinking.Of., their second full-length, builds retro synth-pop from shimmering guitars and fluttery keys; like M83’s latest, the songs are worthy of a John Hughes soundtrack. While the title track’s hammering beats and vocoders raise a red flag, “It Hurts Me All the Time” is all heartfelt pop and gloomy melody, and syncopated instrumentals like “Das Malefitz” are filled with echoing guitars and chiming synths. Instead of hiding shitty songs behind bleeps and retro futurism, Faunts delivers a diverse and, more importantly, memorable album.